Kirti suspended; Parl crippled

New Delhi : The BJP on Wednesday suspended MP Kirti Azad, who has alleged large-scale corruption in Delhi's cricket body when it was headed by now Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

BJP spokesman G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said that the party acted against Azad, a three-time Lok Sabha member from Darbhanga in Bihar, for taking an "anti-BJP line". Azad, a member of the 1983 Indian cricket team which won the World Cup, is the first BJP MP to be suspended since Narendra Modi became the prime minister in May last year.

Azad has for years carried on a campaign against what he calls major corruption in the DDCA, which was headed by Jaitley for 13 years until 2013.

Delhi's ruling AAP dubbed Azad's suspension "unfortunate" and said he was being punished for battling corruption. Kirti responded with a warning: "Just watch what happens next... I'll show them." "My suspension is bad for the party, not me," "I have worked honestly for the party but I was branded anti-party. I have never spoken against the party."

Party sources said he has been accused of colluding with opposition parties, including the AAP and the Congress with the sole purpose of embarrassing the party and its office bearers.

Reiterating that the issue was old, Azad denied that he had teamed up with the Congress or the AAP. "I was saying this for the last 9 years... What saddens me is that this was my issue and the AAP has taken it up. They are a new party."

'Where is zero tolerance against corruption? PM Modi protecting the accused -- first Vyapam, then Lalit Modi, then PDS scam. Now DDCA scam #KirtiAzad,' tweeted Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi.

Shatrughan Sinha, another 'rebel' BJP MP tweeted his support for Azad saying, "Kirti Azad is hero. Have often quoted Newtons 3rd Law. Feel that untimely action cud boomerang. Sadly-Party with a Difference has become Party with Differences. I request friends not to take action against #KirtiAzad. As for FM, issue shud be fought politically not legally. As advised by our dashing dynamic PM, our FM cud follow Advanijis eg & come clean."

The other MP who had backed Azad is former Home Secretary and BJP MP from Bihar RK Singh.

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh @digvijaya_28 Kirti Azad suspended by BJP. His crime? Raised issue of Corruption in DDCA with facts. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP had exposed itself by suspending its Kirti.

"Kirti Azad's fault was that he raised his voice against corruption. The BJP stands completely exposed. The BJP is drowned in corruption," the AAP chief tweeted in Hindi. Kejriwal said that politicians should be kept away from sports bodies.